The real estate brokerage ranks each city based on factors like income, housing, education and transportation, and declares Seattle as the winner
Redfin Releases Report Comparing Life in Boston and Seattle
With the “big game” right around the corner, the rivalry between Boston and Seattle has already started to heat up, with fans in both cities proclaiming that their city is the best. But what is life like off of the field in these cities? Redfin (www.redfin.com), the customer-first real estate brokerage, looked at Census data, information the brokerage gets from the multiple listing services in each city and a few other sources to find out which fans have it better: Seattle or Boston. Here are the categories and scores for each city:
- Getting More Home for Your Money: Seattle – 1, Boston – 0
- Affording a Home in the First Place: Seattle – 1, Boston – 0
- Getting an Education: Seattle – 1, Boston – 1
- Getting Around: Seattle – 0, Boston – 1
- Dating and Marriage: Seattle – 1, Boston – 1
- Enjoying the Weather: Seattle – 1, Boston – 0
- Boating, Cooking and Drinking Coffee: Seattle – 1, Boston – 0
Final Score: Seattle – 6, Boston – 3
The scores are based on the following data points, as well as Redfin reports published last year:
| Seattle | Metric | Boston | ||||
| 629,359 | Population | 598,309 | ||||
| 142.5 sq. miles | Geographical size | 89.6 sq. miles | ||||
| 46% | Homeownership rate | 34% | ||||
| 5,300 | Median lot size of homes sold in 2014 | 1,317 | ||||
| $432,000 | Median sale price of homes sold in 2014 | $469,250 | ||||
| 1,611 | Median square footage of homes sold in 2014 | 1,107 | ||||
| 37% | Share of 2014 sales that were condos or townhomes | 82% | ||||
| 17.10% | Industry: Educational services, health care, social assistance | 19.70% | ||||
| 5.10% | Unemployment rate | 4.50% | ||||
| $70,172 | Median household income | $53,583 | ||||
| 45% | Residents with bachelor’s degree or higher | 33% | ||||
| 7 | GreatSchools rating for public schools | 8.5 | ||||
| 64 | Bike Score | 68 | ||||
| 57 | Transit Score | 75 | ||||
| 71 | Walk Score | 80 | ||||
| 12% |
Residents aged 25-29 |
13% | ||||
| 50% vs. 50% | Male vs. female | 48% vs. 52% | ||||
| 36% | Married | 26% | ||||
| 40% | Never married | 53% | ||||
| 34.1 inches | Average annual rainfall | 43.76 inches | ||||
| 51.95°F | Average annual temperature | 51.4°F | ||||
| 2,019 hours | Average annual hours of sunshine | 2,615 hours | ||||
| 6.8 inches | Average annual snowfall | 44 inches | ||||
To read the full report, complete with a description of each category and the reasons why one city scored higher than the other, please visit the Redfin Blog at: http://blog.redfin.com/blog/2015/01/go-seahawks.html.
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